


It's a (Wo)Man's World

by mggislife2789



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 09:39:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11941401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mggislife2789/pseuds/mggislife2789
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original stories. This is only for fun. It's where my brain goes after the credits roll. No copyright intended. Better safe than sorry. ;)





	It's a (Wo)Man's World

All her life, she’d been led to believe that a woman could do anything a man could do. Her mother encouraged her every step of the way. Her father was a police officer. “You can do whatever you set your mind too, pumpkin,” he’d said to her. She carried that with her all her life.

Well, what she set her mind to now was breaking into the BAU boys’ club. She was so close she could taste it. The only problem now was impressing the famous Agent Jason Gideon - a notoriously difficult task. Despite his breakdown after getting 6 of his agents killed, he was the boss, and if she wanted to prove herself, she needed to prove herself to him most of all. 

Catching killers was always horrendous, but when it involved the killer exploiting the weakness of a victim - the supposed inferiority of a woman, the innocence of a child - that’s when it became 10 times more difficult, and 10 times more personal, especially for Elle.

Going through high school and college trying to fight her way into a man’s world meant that Elle had already come across her fair share of users and abusers, men that thought they could take advantage of her solely because she was a woman. 

That’s why this was going to be hell. This first case.

Not only did she have to prove herself to Gideon and the rest of team, Agents Hotchner and Morgan, and the youngest agent, Dr. Reid, but she had to keep herself in check. Show them that just because she took something personally didn’t mean she was “emotional” or “out of control.”

Here she was. After begging and pleading with Agents Hotchner and Gideon for the opportunity to prove herself, they’d asked for her help on a case. With Richard Slessman in custody for questioning, Gideon asked for her expertise, given the fact that her background was in sex crimes. “The last four murders show that he’s an anger excitation rapist, he’ll keep them for a few days and probably records or video tapes the encounters so that he can relive the fantasy.” It was a good thing her desire to avenge those who couldn’t avenge themselves overrode her disgust for the words coming out of her mouth at the moment. 

Gideon insisted she wait to start interrogating him, given that he’d immediately ask for a lawyer, which she understood, but she truly just wanted to catch this guy. The victim had less than 12 hours to live. As the senior most agent turned around to head up to the suspect’s room, he left Elle wondering if she’d made a decent first impression. “Next time, show a little leg,” Morgan said. She’d come across Morgan during her work quite a few times, so she knew he was a good man, but she wasn’t about to let that little comment slide.

“Hey, Morgan,” she said with a smile, following up the stairs to ensure that she’d be a part of the process every step of the way. “The only time you’re going to see a little leg is when I’m about to kick your ass. But seriously, I want that opening at BAU. Got any advice?”

“Trust your instincts,” he said.

Vague. Great. She loved vague.

As she watched the current team interact, she noticed they worked well together. They respected their superior, but weren’t afraid to question him either. That was good for her because she could never work with someone who felt they were all-knowing and infallible. 

The next day, after Hotchner and Gideon has sussed out that there were two different unsubs, Elle found herself walking and talking with the two senior agents as if she was already on the team. Fake it till you make it.

They were getting close. She accompanied Gideon to the prison where Slessman’s grandmother had mentioned Richard’s cellmate, but the cellmate was dead. However…one of the guards had a key belonging to the car used to kidnap the victim. Timothy Vogel was their man, and she’d noticed it just as quickly as Gideon had. That’s a big screw you to all the people who thought I’d never make it in a man’s world. He was tough to read, but he seemed impressed.

As they trailed Vogel and the car, something was off. Elle could feel it in her bones. “We need to stop him.”

“You know what word is repeated more than any other in your file?” Gideon asked. She was surprised he’d even read her file; he’d never given any indication. “Impatient. You want to stop him, give me a reason.”

She steadied her hands at the wheel and took a deep breath. If she could convince him to allow her to pull over Vogel, she was in - she just knew it. “His behavior. When we left, he was uneasy. Now he’s stopping a stop signs, going the speed limit, slowing down at yellow lights. This isn’t someone who’s in a hurry to dump a body.”

Gideon stared ahead for a moment before giving her the go-ahead. And she’d been right. Vogel had someone else take the car while he went to go get rid of the victim. Morgan and Reid had gained access to the computer. The victim was alive and on a boat, but it was up to Hotch to get them a location, otherwise she and Gideon were like leaves in the wind, floating from place to place with no direction whatsoever. 

“We’ve got the location,” Gideon said as he hung up the phone.

She stood back as they made their way through thee shipyard, knowing that he wouldn’t allow her to apprehend the suspect when she wasn’t officially part of the team yet. As he spoke, Elle stared on in awe. What the hell was he doing? He was antagonizing him - calling him names. Why? The only reason she could think of was that he knew she had his back - and she did. The second Vogel aimed his gun, she shot off two rounds, both hitting their target. After ensuring Gideon was okay (a bullet had grazed his arm), she turned to the victim. “It’s okay. You’re okay. He’s gone now.”

The next few hours were filled with her screams and cries, but eventually she calmed, and thanked both her and Gideon profusely for saving her life. “Just doing our jobs,” Elle said. But it truly was so much more than that. This wasn’t just a job for her. It was her calling. It’s what she was meant to do. The next words out of Gideon’s mouth were probably the sweetest she’d ever heard.

“Welcome to the team, Agent Greenaway.”


End file.
